Plea for troops prompts Obama to reevaluate Afghanistan

Gen. Stanley A McChrystal's conclusion that success in Afghanistan requires a new surge of troops has thrown Washington into a frenzy of debate. Obama has delayed in responding to the general's request, delivering on his campaign promise to carefully evaluate both old and new military strategies in Afghanistan as the war proceeds, the Los Angeles Times said. Obama's advisers have suggested pursuing a shift from rebuilding the Afghan nation to escalating concentrated attacks on al-Qaeda, The Washington Post said. Frustrated military officials, however, perceive deliberations to be time wasted on a ticking clock. The Post report emphasized the political divide on the issue, quoting the public statements of both Republican and Democrat senators. Both papers reconstructed Obama's point of view successfully. Both stories also happened to use the phrase "grim assessment" in their leads...jargon? The format of The Post was a bit easier to follow and I realized it had fewer paragraphs than the LA Times. I decided to do a little math and it turned out The Post averaged 56 words per paragraph compared to the LA Times' 37. The articles were similar lengths overall.